Indiana Landmarks names DePauw grad its new president and CEO

Indiana Landmarks announces that Brad M. Ward has been selected to become the organization’s next president and CEO.

A Jasper, Ind., native with deep experience in community foundations and place-based philanthropy, Ward most recently served as the Director for Community Foundations at Foundant Technologies, a philanthropy-tech firm that supports community foundation fundraising.

Ward previously worked as a lead strategist at the Council on Foundations, where he traveled the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean to help strengthen local community foundations, overseeing programs providing professional development, public policy, and legal services for council members of the nonprofit association.

From 2008 to 2012, Ward led the Huntingburg (Ind.) Foundation, working with board leaders to guide a merger with the Dubois County Community Foundation. He served as CEO of the merged foundations until 2016, and during that time led redevelopment of a vacant parking lot adjacent to Huntingburg’s Old Town Hall into a vibrant urban park. He also guided rehabilitation of Jasper’s 1936 Astra Theatre as a live entertainment and performance venue.

“I’ve worked with a range of private, corporate and public foundations, government agencies, and national entities aligned in their passion for local, place-based action,” said Ward. “I’m eager to leverage this network of influencers and expand on the unique leadership role Indiana Landmarks plays in connecting places, people, and the causes that they care about in order to create opportunities for better communities.”

An executive search committee considered more than 60 candidates from around the country before selecting Ward, whose appointment was unanimously approved by Indiana Landmarks’ board of directors.

“Brad’s experience in engaging public-private partnerships both in Indiana and around the country speaks directly to Indiana Landmarks’ work to support grassroots preservation efforts as a tool for community revitalization,” said Doris Anne Sadler, chair of the search committee. “The committee was impressed by his passion for preservation as well as his broader vision of the role preservation plays in enhancing the sense of place—connecting Hoosiers to the past while looking to the future.”

“Returning to Indiana to lead the largest and arguably most respected private statewide preservation organization in the country is a dream job beyond comparison,” said Ward. “Nothing speaks to me like the opportunity to serve a mission focused on preserving and repurposing places deeply connected to communities and their heritage.”

Ward earned a B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from DePauw University in 2005 and a certificate in fundraising management from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University in 2012.

Starting on April 7, Ward will replace Marsh Davis, who is retiring as president and CEO of Indiana Landmarks after serving the nonprofit organization for 36 of its 65 years.